


contact

by lizzieraindrops



Series: A midnight study in purple [1]
Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Gen, spontaneous tumblr fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 08:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5735857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzieraindrops/pseuds/lizzieraindrops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone has reached out to Veera for information. Not long before OB canon. Originally posted <a href="http://lizzieraindrops.tumblr.com/post/137335212634/contact">on tumblr</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	contact

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cestmabiologie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestmabiologie/gifts).



This woman has absolutely no idea how these things are done.

Veera tugs at the hood of her sweatshirt as if to straighten it, although it’s already settled comfortably over her head with its weight evenly distributed.

She lets out a measured breath, then reaches once again toward the keyboard. Her fingertips floating just above the faintly glowing letters, she weighs her words even more carefully than usual.

It had been easy enough to track this woman’s IP address to Canada. Too easy. Especially since she’s apparently oblivious to the fact that she’s right under the nose of DYAD’s second castle in Toronto. It makes Veera’s legs twitch restlessly just thinking about it. Makes her want to go deeper underground than she already is; curl up in the shadows until this storm, too, has passed her over.

And yet, this is what she has been waiting for. She is the only one with the knowledge that will prevent them from repeating her mistakes.

Suddenly, the woman’s icon lights up in their temporary chatroom to show that she’s typing again. Veera’s brows contract slightly in annoyance. She’d almost finished formulating a strategized response. But she’d taken too long. She’s insistent, this Beth.

_I know of four in Europe and three others in North America besides me. Do you know how many more there are, and where?_

_Can you tell me what we are, exactly, and why? One of us is a scientist, she says it must be clones. Says that it’s just barely possible with the technology at the time._

Veera sighs. Too many bald questions, not enough caution. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. She pulls her hands back again to rub at her eyes. Even with the screen of her computer dimmed, her eyes ache from staring at its light in the nighttime dimness of another poorly-lit temporary bedroom. She briefly rests her face in her hands. The skin of her cheek is rough and uneven against the smoothness of her right hand.

Who? Us. What? Clones. When? 1984. Where? Everywhere. This scientist could probably answer the how better than Veera herself can. The why, though: this is the question whose answer she’s been seeking for twelve years. She’s sure she’s gotten closer to that secret than anyone who isn’t one of its keepers. No one else has had the necessary patience and discretion for this particular quest. This dragon has swallowed every knight that’s ever dared enter its cave. It could still swallow Veera, too, if it realizes she’s hiding in the shadows against the walls, eyeing its hoard.

Veera inhales deeply and sets her fingers deliberately back to the keys. She pauses before typing to shudder slightly with nerves. She tenses slightly under the heavy yet flexible weight of her sweatshirt over her shoulders. Twelve years since Niki. Twelve more since Rachel. It’s time to once again taste that forbidden fruit that has nearly killed her twice.

Contact.

Her hands are shadows flickering rapidly over the keys.

_I will help you. But you **must**  be cautious._

_Rule number 1. You must not let anyone know that you know, or they will kill you._

_Rule number 2. Trust no one who does not share your face. Even then, be careful._

_Rule number 3. You must not run. Not forward, not back, not away. You must walk slowly as if nothing is wrong. They say you must never run from anything immortal: it attracts their attention. And you were made by those who played at being gods._

**Author's Note:**

> Rule #3 is a quote/reference to Peter S. Beagle's _The Last Unicorn_.


End file.
